The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ended a strong week's trade on a high, driven upwards by real estate shares. The index was up 0.81% at 6,945.20 points at Friday's close.
That sees the benchmark 2.26% higher than it was this time last week and at its highest point since 10 June.
The S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) led the session today, closing 3% higher after starting the week on a slow foot.
Other top performing sectors included the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) and the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) – up 2.5% and 1.3% respectively.
Their gains followed a strong session on Wall Street overnight. The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) lifted 1.2% in Thursday's session while the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) and the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) both rose 1%.
Iron ore futures and gold futures also lifted overnight, although Singapore iron ore futures reportedly tumbled today.
Of the ASX 200's 11 sectors, 10 were trading in the green at the end of today's session. But which shares delivered the biggest gains? Keep reading to find out.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
The best performing ASX 200 share on Friday was gold miner St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM). The stock leapt 10% on Friday amid the rising price of gold. Find out more about what St Barbara has been up to lately here.
Today's biggest gains were made by these ASX 200 shares:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) | $1.125 | 9.76% |
| EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) | $1.05 | 8.25% |
| Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) | $18.77 | 6.17% |
| Charter Hall Group (ASX: CHC) | $12.74 | 5.12% |
| Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) | $2.64 | 4.76% |
| Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) | $20.70 | 4.6% |
| Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) | $0.81 | 4.52% |
| Janus Henderson Group CDI (ASX: JHG) | $36.07 | 4.4% |
| Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) | $2.90 | 4.32% |
| Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) | $108.48 | 4.25% |
Our top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to ensure you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the market has closed during weekdays to see which stocks make the countdown.
